Civil War Songs

During the Civil War singing was one of the soldiers' favorite ways to pass time. Scores of songs were composed during the war and sung throughout the armies and at home.

Many were inspirational marching tunes meant to keep soldiers' morale high, while others were sad sentimental songs that were sung when thinking of home or loved ones.

Sometimes, if soldiers liked a tune they heard the enemy singing, they would write their own lyrics to the song and sing it themselves. For this reason, many Civil War songs have at least two versions.

Below are many songs from both sides: some were sung primarily by Union soldiers, others primarily by Confederate soldiers, while the songs labeled Songs the Soldiers Sang were sung by soldiers in both armies.

Songs of the Union
Title	Composer	Lyrics	Music
Abraham's Daughter	Septimus Winner	Yes	No
Battle Hymn of the Republic	Julia War Howe	Yes	Yes
Billy Barlow	Edward Clifford	Yes	No
For the Dear Old Flag I Die	George Cooper	Yes	No
Grafted into the Army	Henry C. Work	Yes	No
John Brown's Body	Anonymous	Yes	No
Kingdom Coming (Year of Jubilo)	Henry C. Work	Yes	No
Lincoln and Liberty	Jesse Hutchinson	Yes	No
Marching Along	William B. Bradbury	Yes	No
Marching Through Georgia	Henry C. Work	Yes	No
My Maryland (Union Version)	Anonymous	Yes	No
The Army of the Free	Frank H. Norton	Yes	No
The Battle Cry of Freedom	George F. Root	Yes	Yes
The New York Volunteer	Anonymous	Yes	No
Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! (The Prisoner's Hope)	George F. Root	Yes	Yes
We Are Coming, Father Abr'am	James Sloan Gibbons	Yes	No
When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea	S.B.M. Meyers	Yes	No
Songs of the Confederacy
Title	Composer	Lyrics	Music
Dixie's Land	Daniel Emmett	Yes	Yes
God Save the South	Earnest Halpin	Yes	Yes
Goober Peas	A. Pindar	Yes	Yes
Lorena	Rev. H.D.L.d Webster	Yes	No
Richmond is a Hard Road to Travel	Anonymous	Yes	No
Riding a Raid	Anonymous	Yes	No
Stonewall Jackson's Way	J.W. Palmer	Yes	No
The Bonnie Blue Flag	Harry McCarthy	Yes	No
The Rebel Soldier (Southern Appalachian folk song)	Anonymous	Yes	No
The Yellow Rose of Texas	Anonymous	Yes	No
We Conquer or Die	James Pierpont	Yes	No
Songs the Soldiers Sang
Title	Composer	Lyrics	Music
Aura Lea	W.W. Fosdick	Yes	No
Here's Your Mule	Anonymous	Yes	No
Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade	Anonymous	Yes	No
Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground	Walter Kittredge	Yes	No
When Johnny Comes Marching Home	Patrick S. Gilmore	Yes	Yes